Get Rich (Kinda) Quick: 10 Fun and Easy Ways To Save Money

It's easy to see how debt can creep up for many households between credit card debt, mortgage payments, student loans, and car loans. Now, not all debt is bad. For example, most people need to take on a mortgage if they want to own a home, or using debt to start a small business is how many entrepreneurs get their start.

However, if you’re trying to become debt-free or increase your savings, that’s a good thing too. Keeping more of your hard-earned money means you’re working towards financial independence. And, by paying off any outstanding debt more quickly, you’re saving money on interest payments in the long run and improving your financial future.

You're also in luck if you’re wondering how to save money to reach your financial goals. There are numerous easy ways to save money you can use to improve your finances without negatively impacting your quality of life.

The 10 Easiest Ways To Save Money

It’s easy to think of saving money as being restrictive. But many of the best ways to save money involve becoming more aware of your spending habits and making small gradual changes to reduce spending. To make your life easier and cheaper, we’ve compiled a list of the easiest ways to save money.

1. Track Your Spending

If you’re looking for ways to save money, your first step is understanding where your money goes each month. After all, without a blueprint of your spending, you can’t identify potentially harmful habits draining your wallet.

For starters, take an afternoon and review the previous few months of your finances. This means looking through online bank transactions and credit card bills to map your spending. For each month, group expenses by categories like:

• Rent
• Utilities
• Food
• Entertainment
• Clothing
• Insurance
• Vehicle expenses

This is the foundation for your monthly budget. Once you analyze several months of spending, you’ll notice patterns, like spending hundreds of dollars on clothing over the past few months or a higher grocery bill than you thought. It would be best to decide on a dollar figure you’re comfortable with for each budget category. Once you know how much you can spend per month, it’s time to track your spending to avoid overspending.

Free personal finance software like Mint lets you do this automatically. You can also use You Need A Budget to create a personalized budget and monitor spending so you’re living within your means. This might sound complex, but apps and budgeting software can take care of the heavy lifting automatically.

Ultimately, tracking your spending is one of the easiest ways to save money and a good foundation for personal finance.

2. Use Coupon & Rebate Apps

Regarding easy ways to save money, coupon and rebate apps are your best friend. These apps ultimately help you save money on categories like groceries, household essentials, cleaning products, and even gas! There are plenty of apps that provide free coupons or let you earn cashback rewards for shopping at specific brands.

Some popular coupon and rebate apps you can use to save include:

• Piggy
• Checkout 51
• com
• Drop
• Fetch Rewards
• Ibotta
• Receipt Hog

If you’re a frequent online shopper, money-saving browser extensions that let you save money by automatically applying coupon codes and earning cash-back rewards should be a no-brainer. None of these apps make a massive difference in your monthly spending. But in the aggregate, saving $25 to $50 per month with these apps amounts to hundreds of dollars per year in savings.

The bottom line is that there’s usually some app or extension that can help you avoid paying the total price. Even if it seems like minor savings, your effort to save more will be worth it over the year.

3. Create a Weekly Meal Plan

Anytime you throw out food, you’re wasting money. According to the USDA, food waste in the United States accounts for approximately 30% to 40% of the annual food supply. In 2010, this resulted in around $161 billion worth of wasted food. Therefore, one of the easiest ways to save money is to avoid this wasteful habit whenever possible.

If you like getting creative in the kitchen, create a few weeks of meal plans for your household, so you know what to shop for. The best way to accomplish this is to stick to a weekly meal plan to know exactly what you’re cooking and the ingredients you need. This also reduces the risk you buy products on impulse when shopping. Alternatively, use free apps like Mealime to create healthy meal plans that suit your dietary preferences and needs.

As long as you steadily reduce your food waste, you can trim your grocery budget and begin saving more money on monthly food costs.

4. Cancel Unused Subscriptions

People forget to cancel subscriptions all the time. When was the last time you looked through your bank statements to look for recurring subscriptions? If it’s been several months or more, it’s probably time to look into this area of spending.

Some familiar candidates for sneaky subscription bills include:

• Gym memberships
• Streaming packages
• Free trials, especially for things like VPNs that turn into paid subscriptions
• Subscriptions to online magazines and websites
• Patreon subscriptions

If you use and enjoy it, there’s nothing wrong with paying for a service. But be honest with yourself and cancel that unused gym membership or streaming plan that rarely sees use.

You can also use apps like Truebill to monitor and cancel unused subscriptions. Truebill can also negotiate lower monthly bills for services like your cellphone, cable, and internet plan to help you save even more.

5. Use a Cash Back Credit Card

For zero-effort ways to save money, nothing beats cashback credit cards. You should have a cashback credit card in your wallet if you can use a credit card responsibly. You usually earn between 1% to 2% cash back on everyday spending with a cashback credit card. The cashback you earn is redeemable for future statement payments or gift cards, so you can use your cashback earnings to save on upcoming purchases. Earning 1% to 2% might sound inconsequential, but if you spend $10,000 per year on that card, that’s up to $200 in free money!

Plus, many credit cards offer introductory bonuses, like bonus cash for spending a certain amount within your first three months. Some cards also have rotating cashback rates of 5% or higher on categories like fuel, travel, and dining, so there’s plenty of money on the table.

Again, the only requirement is to pay off your balance on time to avoid paying interest. Cashback credit cards are one of the best ways to save money, but only if you use them responsibly.

6. Try a No-spend Challenge

A no-spend challenge is exactly what it sounds like: you’re supposed to avoid spending money for a specific amount of time. Usually, no-spend challenges last for one or two weeks. More ambitious savers can try a no-spend challenge for an entire month. Ultimately, the point is to limit your savings for a set amount of time. You can still spend money on essentials, like rent, utilities, and food. But forget about that upcoming shopping trip or dinner during a no-spend challenge!

These challenges might sound intense, but if you’ve fallen off track with your monthly spending, a no-spend challenge can help kickstart your efforts to save more money.

7. Switch to a Cheaper Cell Phone Plan

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017, the average American spent approximately $94 per month on their cell phone plan. That’s around $1,118 per year just for using your cell phone! So, if you want an easy way to save money, consider cutting back on some of the frills in your cell phone bill. Also, don’t be afraid to ditch your current provider for a cheaper (or even free!) cell phone service.

Companies like Mint Mobile have cell phone plans starting at $15 per month, with unlimited talk and text, nationwide coverage, and 4GB of data. Similarly, Cricket Wireless has a high-speed data plan for $35 per month with auto-pay, unlimited talk and text, and 10GB of data per month.

Just check your existing contract to ensure you don’t pay penalties for ditching your current provider before your contract expires.

8. Save Money on Insurance

Like your phone bill, saving money on insurance is another simple way to reduce your monthly spending. There are also numerous ways to accomplish this. One common strategy is bundling things like car and home insurance with a single provider, which usually gives you a better rate. If you currently have two separate insurance policies, check with your provider if bundling saves you money.

Alternatively, you can use an online insurance broker to find cheaper insurance policies that suit your needs. For example, Gabi lets you compare home and auto insurance rates from over 40 insurance providers to find the best plans. According to Gabi, users save an average of $961 per year by using the service.

You shouldn’t expect thousands of dollars in savings, but even $20 to $40 of a lower monthly premium is hundreds of dollars in savings annually.

9. Automate Your Savings

Sometimes, the fastest way to build a habit is to automate it. This is especially true if you’re struggling to learn how to save money. Rather than forgetting to put money aside each month, set up automatic deposits from your checking account into a high-interest savings account. Doing this ensures you never miss a beat to save more. Plus, the money you put aside can slowly turn into the start of an emergency fund or nice nest egg.

Almost any online bank lets you set up automatic deposits to a savings account these days. You can also set up deposits to align with payday so you don’t feel your checking account is draining.

10. Save Money on Entertainment

Regarding discretionary spending, entertainment can be one of the most problematic areas for people’s budgets. After all, a few nights out with friends or a busy weekend of activities and you might be out hundreds of dollars. But you don’t have to give up entertainment to stay on budget. Instead, one of the best ways to save money involves looking for free or cheaper entertainment sources instead of forking money every weekend.

Some examples of accessible or affordable activities you can try include:

• Having a beach day
• Exploring a local park
• Hosting a potluck with friends instead of going to a restaurant
• Having a picnic in the park
• Having a backyard barbeque
• Camping
• Hiking

If you’re going to spend money on entertainment, try to stretch the money you’re spending. For example, if you go out to eat with your kids, look up places that let kids eat for free in your city. Similarly, if you’re going to the movies, check if certain days of the week have discount ticket prices.

Even if you can’t find deals that day, looking for savings before going out saves money in the long run.

Bottom Line: There Are Easy Ways To Save Money

Learning how to save money is quite simple. You must create a monthly budget, track your spending, utilize all the best ways to save money, and live within your means. With these foundations in place, you can keep more of your hard-earned money each month and save for the future.

If you want to boost your savings rate, remember that your best friend always remembers the easy ways to save money. If you can cut costs without significantly changing your lifestyle, it’s usually a win, making these saving hacks so useful.

Remember to do everything in moderation; trying different ways to save money is great, but don’t put your health or long-term happiness on the line to pinch pennies. If you stick to the basics and remain diligent, you have a bright financial future!

This post originally appeared on Wealth of Geeks